Why am I excited? I want a DSLR-like feature level compact. Panasonic G series is too big. The nearest you can get now are the likes of the Canon G series but the sensor is too small. There's the Sigma DP series, but they're fixed lens. This Oly has interchangeable lenses. For now I assume it will be designed purely around fast contrast AF like the similar Panasonic models. No space wasted on a viewfinder.

*if* they manage to stick sensor shift anti-shake in the body, it'll be even better. But I fear the small size may prevent that from being fitted.

The pictured lens says 17mm f/2.8 on it. With the 2x crop factor I hope they're also going to redo the 25mm pancake for mFT, maybe with even bigger apertures.

this model definitely looks interesting. by the looks of it, i think this should be priced at a very affordable level. no viewfinder or built in flash will make some/many angry. so will the lack of a swivel lcd. meh, either way it's something i'll be excited to actually see in person. i'd love to see a size comparison between the e-3 & e-p1.

this model definitely looks interesting. by the looks of it, i think this should be priced at a very affordable level. no viewfinder or built in flash will make some/many angry. so will the lack of a swivel lcd. meh, either way it's something i'll be excited to actually see in person. i'd love to see a size comparison between the e-3 & e-p1.

I don't think so.

The Sigma DP series is essentially a DSLR-like sensor into a compact body and those cameras cost 600+ bucks. Impressive image quality in daylight conditions, but super slow, barely any features and practically unusable indoors. Olympus has to do more than just use a m4/3 sensor, they have to incorporate performance and features that go along with it.

Add to that some of the R&D that went into the new Olympus and this first generation opf cameras should be fairly pricey.

On cost, I'm not expecting this to be cheap either. As a kit with a lens, I'll predict it will be placed above high end compacts like the Canon G10. Yes, that puts it right into entry level DSLR pricing. But you are high end small size.

The sensor is going to be comparable to other FT cameras so no worries about performance there, and the image quality will blow away any typical compact.

On camera flash would have been a nice to have, but instead there's a hotshoe on top. Maybe they'll make a micro-flash to match?

No viewfinder is absolutely the right choice for this type of camera. Small size is the priority. A viewfinder would add unnecessary size and cost. You couldn't do one optically with changeable lenses and no mirror, so that means the complexity of adding EVF? There's always the possibility of a hotshoe mounted optical OVF set for a particular prime if you really want one.

Thinking a little more now, I'm wondering how small could you make a zoom lens suitable for the camera? I'm not sure a big lens would be left on a camera like this as it would largely negate the size advantage. While a collection of pancake primes is nice, could they do a pancake zoom??? Like other compacts, it'll be flat in minimal length configuration and will possibly extend a lot for zooming and/or focus.